The Reality of Prejudice: Are Gays Just As Guilty of It?

To me, it’s amazing that prejudice still exists in the world we live in today. Maybe I don’t mean that as such; it seems like such an idealistic and naïve thing to say. I suppose what I mean is, if a sensible, well-rounded person heard someone say something like, ‘black people shouldn’t be allowed to vote!’ or possibly ‘gay people are so disgusting!’, I’d like to think that they’d stop and call said person out for their bigotry and hatred. And I think that is pretty great. I don’t like to use the term ‘allies’, but it’s always encouraging to have support and to have someone fight your corner when you’re being discriminated against.

Growing up as gay, I faced a lot of prejudice. I wouldn’t say it’s made me a ‘better person’ – another term I dislike, as I don’t necessarily associate strength with anything pertaining to abuse or trauma – but it’s definitely made me look at things differently. When you’ve experienced discrimination on a hefty scale, it tends to make you fiercely defensive of others who face it. I’ve often spoken up when other people have been afraid to, purely because I know how difficult it is to feel ostracised for something as simple as your sexuality, your race or even your gender.

So it’s surprising to discover that gay people can often be the most judgemental and narrow minded people you could ever come across. I know it’s not ethical or correct to base someone’s opinion based on something as diverse as their sexuality, and indeed we should be basing our views on the person rather than something they are, but in a community where one is often bound together by groups or places where you congregate, you do tend to see a lot of similar attitudes coming from a particular minority group.

RECOMMENDED

[contentcards url=”https://culturedvultures.com/faggot-debate-feel-word/”]

Take Grindr, for example. How many times have you seen ‘no blacks or Asians’ on someone’s profile? Or ‘no femmes’? Or even ‘no fats’? This argument has been popping up since as early as 2011, with people arguing that it’s ‘not racist’. But whichever way you want to look at it, it’s discrimination. You might not think it, but believe me, to immediately cut off a person of minority before you’ve even made a first point of contact is pretty discriminatory to me, even if you don’t see a problem with it. And it’s quite funny how people make the point of saying they’re not on Grindr for ‘hook ups’, yet are quick to state that they’re not singling out people because of discrimination, but because it’s a case of ‘preference’. Oh, comedy!

Moving away from Grindr, the transgender community have been a pretty big talking point recently on my news feed, particularly with the upcoming documentary of Caitlyn Jenner being highly publicised. Most people have highly praised Caitlyn for her openness and her bravery, but others, less so. It has astounded me how many gay men that I’ve seen still referring to her as ‘Bruce’ – and not accidentally either – and generally dismissing her struggles, thereby also not acknowledging the everyday turmoil that transgender people face.

You’d think that having been through some hardships ourselves – and I’m pretty certain that the majority of gay men, whether they’re white, black, fat, femme or masculine, have been through some issue or another – that we’d be a lot more open to other people’s. But sadly, sometimes it isn’t the case. Which makes me believe in a particular quote from Jackie Hagan: “The fight for equality isn’t between men and women. It’s between people and dickheads.”